Due to the limited supply of gasoline and its corresponding high cost, the importance of minimizing fuel waste in a car has taken new dimensions in recent years.
Presently cars waste fuel in several ways, some of which are:
1. During braking the car's kinetic energy is transformed to heat which is dissipated to the surroundings.
2. When moving in congested traffic, the engine operates very inefficiently and is running continuously even when the car is standing.
3. Present transmissions usually have a few fixed ratios vs. an infinitely variable transmission which can continuously provide an optimal ratio. Further, present day automatic transmissions introduce additional power losses in the torque converter and hydraulic pump areas.
An object of the present invention is to provide a transmission which will eliminate the above losses.
The advantages of regenerative braking, intermittent engine operation at an optimal carburetor opening and an infinitely variable transmission, as well as the value of these features to the fuel economy, are all known. However, to date, no system could be built that will provide these features without introducing undesirable and untolerable side effects of cost, complexity and bulk.